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Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens,
whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother
was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three
of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free.
They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's
past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their
mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable
novel about divine femal power, a story women will share and pass on to their
daughters for years to come.

Reviews
This book is very vividly written, routinely drawing on all of the reader's senses. More than once I uttered an
audible “wow” for the way a scene would draw me up. I read in the author’s blurb that an excerpt from this
work won an award as a short story – and I can see why. You could pluck out big chunks of this book and still be
wowed by them all on their own. But the cohesive whole is really a work of art. Just beautiful!
The story, though, is something that is a little more difficult for me to comment on, as it hit a little too close to
home for me, having lost my mother at a young age. I don't think I can objectively speak on the story, which is
to say that it was authentically done; it resonated with my real life experiences in a profound way. My only
complaint is the way it wrapped up in a pretty quick fashion. The rest of the book allowed the reader to discover
Lily's journey along with her. The ending seemed to have to hurry up and tell, and it seemed incomplete. Also,
as sucker for romance, I really wished to find out more about Lily's future with Zach, but that’s just me. These
are all ticky-tack things to bring up because, really, all in all, this was a great book.

This book will always be a favorite of mine. The story follows Lily Owens, a 14 year old girl who was raised by
her black nanny in 1960s South Carolina. The Civil Rights movement is gaining steam, resulting in high racial
tensions and unrest. Lily's father is cruel, harsh, and unloving. Lily lost her mother at the age 4 in a tragic
accident that leaves her feeling guilty and ashamed. When Lily's nanny, Rosaleen is beaten an arrested for
attempting to register to vote, Lily seizes the opportunity to leave her empty life behind in search of a
connection to her mother.
Following a trail led by a single picture belonging to her mother, Lily and Rosaleen end up at the home of the
Boatwright sisters. The black, beekeeping sisters take them in and a loving relationship slowly evolves as they
all learn how deeply they are connected. It is a story of love overcoming all obstacles (including skin color), and
the power of the love of a mother. The Secret Life of Bees is a story that will always stick with you.
I also saw the movie for the first time after reading this book. The film closely follows the book's storyline and
captures the essence of the racial tensions of the time. However, it portrays Lily's emotional internal conflicts
weakly, which is an integral part of the power of this story. As expected, the movie is not as good as the book,
but it's definitely worth a watch.

One of the best books I have read recently. This book is supposed to be about a motherless girl looking for what
a family really means. But for myself it went much deeper.This book dug up huge emotion that had let sink
deep. It brought back a time in my own life when racism and prejudice became a reality that I had never
witnessed up close. It was especially difficult to deal with when you feel powerless to protect or prevent. Also
this young girl's disillusionment at people she had always been taught to respect. Who stood by and did nothing
or did worse by their tacit agreement of how 'things' are. She had a war inside her to do what she was told was
right and what she felt inside herself was right.
I probably have not learned all the lessons my own experience had to teach. Even now I probably haven't
ackowledged all the lessons I did learn. I only acknowledge that I experienced them and then tucked them

away. There were so many quotes I noted but I think I like this one best--QUOTE: The whole problem with
people is they know what matters, but they don't choose it. The hardest thing on earth is choosing what
matters.
Ok, just one more--QUOTE: People, in general, would rather die than forgive. It's THAT hard. If God said in
plain language, "I'm giving you a choice, forgive or die," a lot of people would go ahead and order their coffin.